Hoag receives largest donation in its history

The Hoag Hospital Foundation received the largest donation in the Newport Beach hospital's history, the organization announced Monday.

The gift, valued at $53 million, comes from the estate of Jeffrey Carlton, who founded a metal processing company, Press Forge, in 1978.

Carlton's trust will become a foundation that will distribute the amount in increments decided over time.

The total donated may grow as the money is invested, said Flynn Andrizzi, president of the Hoag Hospital Foundation and senior vice president of Hoag Hospital.

Funds will be used to address various needs, according to a news release. The first $15 million will be directed to the hospital's Heart & Vascular Institute, which will be renamed the Jeffrey M. Carlton Heart & Vascular Institute.

This new name marks just one of many ways Hoag plans to recognize Carlton's generosity, Andrizzi said in a prepared statement.

"The impact of this gift cannot be overstated," Andrizzi said.

Carlton served as the chairman and chief executive of Press Forge in Paramount until his death Sept. 24, 2012. His gift follows the example set by his father, Allan Carlton Jr., who also supported Hoag.

His father, now deceased, and his father's wife, Lorraine, gave more than $1 million in support of the Sue and Bill Gross Women's Pavilion, for which fundraising started in 1999.

They also made smaller gifts to different institutes and programs at the hospital beginning in 1984, said Chelsea Thompson, a spokeswoman for the hospital foundation.

"This is his way in all honesty of recognizing his father as well," Andrizzi said. "It certainly is a tribute to both of them."

Hoag opened in Newport Beach in 1952. It now treats more than 30,000 inpatients and 350,000 outpatients annually, according to the release.

The Hoag Hospital Foundation, a nonprofit partner of the hospital, serves to support these efforts. Carlton's gift augments more than $40 million in gifts and pledges raised annually by the foundation.

"As we move into a new era of healthcare delivery where we must accomplish more with less, every Hoag patient and our entire community will benefit from Mr. Carlton's generosity," Robert Braithwaite, Hoag president and chief executive said in a prepared statement.